My friend just bought a sweet, $4700 mountain bike. I couldn’t help but drool a little, even if such equipment is way beyond my means. Frankly, it’s way too fancy for my skills too. Trail riding and single track are a blast and I love them passionately, but I’m not that advanced as a rider. And my basic skills are arguably more limited by my gear. I’ve been riding a bike that’s way too small because it was all I could afford (but love how maneuverable it is, I can toss it around super easy), and it’s not really rated for the riding I like to do. Plus I’ve worn the hell out of it, stuff is breaking, rusting, and falling apart.

In the interests of safety and sanity, I picked out a reasonable new bike. I’ve been dreaming of springy shocks that make riding down stairs dreamy again. Gears that shift dependably and quietly, and the ability to go bombing down the steep sections without the fear of catastrophic gear failure. Other than the normal risks of course. I love my adrenaline, love the adventure, but I prefer my risks to be limited and at least a tiny bit calculated. Luckily, there’s totally a bike for that.

If I’m lucky, perhaps I can get some slippery sliding snowy riding in. The white stuff makes me incredibly happy; whether it’s if I’m biking, snowshoeing, skiing, hiking, walking, driving, viewing holiday lights, or just hanging out watching it fall in puffy sparkly beauty. It goes a long ways towards balancing out the insanity of a world that seems sicker every day. If we’re plunging headlong into destruction, I might as well try and get some air time on the way down, and at this time of year, the snow cushions the landing a bit. There’s nothing like hitting the perfect landing. I say that after lots of experience crashing. Scars are proof of life.

SOTD
Move – Saint Motel
The More You Live, The More You Love – AFOS
All This I Should Have Known – Breathe
Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy
Holding On For Life – Broken Bells
Fly Me Courageous – Drivin ‘n Cryin
I Ain’t Breaking – Steve Holy
Come Back – J. Geils Band